I've read this book a month ago or so, and it has been the only book that I have given 5 stars. The writing was not the thing that captured my heart, but the story. Everything just fit well together. I honestly did not want the book to end 🙁 It was the only book I've read in which I did not feel I was reading at all!
Although, I'm sure we have different opinions.
Whether you agree or disagree with my thoughts, I'd like to have a discussion about it 🙂
by [deleted]
34 Comments
I thought it was a terribly written piece of boring fictional celebrity gossip which hinged on an unbelievable relationship between flat characters.
I can see why other people enjoyed it but it’s just….fine for me. I read it easily enough, I finished it but I wasn’t wowed. It just wasn’t particularly memorable, and I wouldn’t re-read.
It was OK but not great. I didn’t really engage with anything, the story or writing.
I thought it was mediocre, at best. I thought it was superficial and formulaic.
I really really loved it!!!
I bought it on a trip to entertain me during the stay and it did its part. It was truly entertaining and, for me personally, I liked it because it featured a bisexual character. OP, keep in mind that I was feeling lonely and kinda sad during that trip, so the story and the book made me forget about the stuff in my life that was bothering me. It gave me a cute fun little story to escape reality.
It’s an OK book, as it seems to be the case with all of these hyped “millennial literature” books as I’d come to call it. I also bought Daisy Jones & the Six by the same author, and I did NOT care for that book. Made me break the glass in regards to the author. In the end, those are basic books that seem great by people that don’t actually read good books (not shaming, I know this sounds snob but it is what it is… there are good books and there are more blockbuster type books).
TL;DR: a fine basic book that keeps you entertained.
I bought it because I enjoyed Taylor Jenkins Reid’s previous novel, Daisy Jones & the Six. I thought it was a fun trip from the 50’s to the present with interesting characters.
I loved it. Ended up reading all of TJRs backlist and new releases when they came out.
It is not the next great American novel but that being said, it was very enjoyable for me! I really enjoy easily read books without a ton of deeper meaning- the same way some people love action movies or reality tv. I read almost exclusively for entertainment and this book hit the mark.
I liked it fine but it wasn’t amazing.
I admit I didn’t see the twist coming but afterwards felt like it should have been obvious.
It was just ok. I’ve never recommended it. On another note I’ve gotten a few people to read Demon Copperhead!
I liked it a lot, until the reveal at the end. You know the one.
It was a little overhyped online, but I really enjoyed it. I recommend it for people who like reading about Hollywood and need to get out of a reading slump.
That book is the reason I never want to read TJR’s work again lol.
It was overrated for me :/ but different strokes for different folks. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a kind of writer who does All tell, no show. However, she wittily chooses the most flat formats of writing, that doesn’t require any vocabulary or creativity, like an interview.
Well, I really think the plot twist could’ve been better. It was predictable and just couldn’t content me. But overall, it was still a great book. 4/5 stars.
I enjoyed it, but I came away with the distinct impression that TJR didn’t quite nail her research on Old Hollywood. It’s been too long to give concrete examples, but things that happened in the 1950s in the book’s timeline felt more appropriate to the real world of 1930s Hollywood. Stuff like the studio system, tabloid stuff, etc. It was like Reid wanted to set the book earlier but realized Evelyn would be 110 by the modern day part of the story.
I have this issue with other books by Reid. Carrie Soto is back was clearly written without any real research into tennis history, something that was confirmed for me when the Mens and Womens Wimbledon Finals were played on the same day, at night.
I really loved it!
I liked it! The ending was ROUGH though. It didn’t feel deserved (if that makes sense). It’s been a while since I read it but I didn’t think the reveal was warranted.
It kept me engaged. I wasn’t blown away by it.
Couldn’t put it down, read it in one day. 🙂
I read it because it was popular. I liked it, but it didn’t blow my doors off. I guess I had some FOMO when it was trending. I didn’t love it.
I quite enjoyed it. It didn’t blow me away, but I rated it a solid 4/5
It was okay. A couple of interesting twists. I didn’t like the main character very much.
I enjoyed it.
I listened to the audiobook and I absolutely loved it
I really loved it, honestly. It was an easy read and I was entertained and found the characters to be well-developed and relatable.
I personally found it incredibly enjoyable and a fun, fast read. I did find it frustrating that TJR handled the diversity in a lackluster way.
I liked it but I felt that the ending was very rushed, too many character deaths happened in quick succession of each other and also it kind of bugged me how short Connor’s character arc was. Even though she’s literally Evelyn’s daughter I felt her characterisation was barely explored and so much more could have been done with her angsty teenage years.
(Spoilers) >! Now as for the deaths I really felt they could have been more impactful, I did cry at Harry Cameron’s death and Celia revealing her diagnosis (that being said I am very over-emotional lol) but as for Celia’s actual death? Kind of just didn’t react even though she was one of my favourites, it felt very rushed, and Connor’s death was even less impactful. Even Evelyn’s suicide at the end felt anticlimactic !<
That being said however I did enjoy the plot for the most part and it had a lot of loveable characters, the start and middle of it really kept me engaged with the scandal of it all. I liked that it explored what went on behind closed doors in Old Hollywood too instead of glamourising all of it (actresses being forced to hide their real ethnicity like Evelyn, going on cabbage soup diets and smoking cigarettes to stay skinny etc.)
However, the end was just a big let down for me. It started off as a book that felt like it was going to wow me, but then it just didn’t.
the ending almost ruins the whole book for me.
Agree with the opinion that this is a “beach book.” It’s not challenging or even really thought-provoking, but it’s fine entertainment/time passing material.
It’s overhyped and i can’t understand all the love for it
I enjoyed Evelyn’s retellings but I found Monique to be whiny and boring.
I think as a queer woman who has read a fair amount of wild queer lit, it felt overhyped to me. I will agree it was very readable and didn’t feel taxing to get through. Groundbreaking? No. Monique’s blackness and Evelyn’s Cuban (?) background felt a bit like “pick a race” and wasn’t really reflected in their characters. I also found the twist to be very tropey and something we’ve seen many times before. The only reason any of this bothered me was because it was hailed as some kind of iconic book whereas if I’d known it was a beach reach going into it, I wouldn’t have rated it so harshly.